In Iraq, heavy fighting continues in the north as Kurdish Peshmerga forces hold the front lines against Islamic State militants. Supplies are running low in several refugee camps setup to help with the ongoing crisis. About 20,000 refugees are near the Turkish border seeking shelter. CCTV’s Sean Callebs reports from the camp.

The landscape is filled with canvas United Nation’s tents, each one, holding several families. Each family has its own story of survival and life on the run from the Islamic State.

Eles Fareda Sliman spends the days with his brother, sister, and their families, trying to avoid the unforgiving Iraqi sun. They are living on meals of rice, soup, and a little bread.

There are 20,000 people squeezed into a facility near the city of Dohuk, not far from the Turkish border.
It’s only supposed to hold about 15,000, but in a crisis what is the option?

All the refugees are Yazidis members of a religious minority who got trapped on Mount Sinjar by ISIS.
Most have seen somebody die. All have suffered beyond belief.

Despite the horrific conditions refugees from Sinjar say they consider themselves among the lucky ones. They say there are still hundreds of families trapped back in their hometown –an area now controlled by the Islamic State.

They say they are able to phone periodically and find out each day the Islamic State is killing more of their friends and loved ones. The United Nations has elevated the humanitarian crisis to its highest level.

But the front lines are constantly shifting, Meaning, exhausted, victimized families could be moving for the second, third, or fourth time. And that means creating new camps, again and again. The U.N. has been overburdened trying to help more than a million and a half people on the run. Thousands of refugees have died. Many here fear the future.
But, they are alive, even if they don’t know where they will be in three, or six months.

But as electricity comes to the camp chances are they could be here after being tortured and uprooted by an enemy bent on genocide.

For more on the turmoil in Iraq, we were joined by Todd Ruffner, a Middle East Analyst from the Project on Middle East Democracy.

For more on humanitarian efforts in Iraq, CCTV America was joined by Matt Southworth. He’s an Iraq War vet working for the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

What humanitarian efforts mean for Iraq

For more on humanitarian efforts in Iraq, CCTV America was joined by Matt Southworth. He's an Iraq War vet working for the Friends Committee on National Legislation.